The Fifth Horseman

You have gushed everything

'Shit! It's late,' screamed Daniel out of a sudden, breaking the waves of deep slumber as his body jolted out of bed, naked in his underwear. He walked to his study table, found his phone to check the time. He rubbed his eyes for clarity and saw '0730H', and that only meant he was dead meat. He rushed to the toilet, hit the lights on and gargled some mouthwash, sniffed his armpits, moved his face away repulsively and then haphazardly patted talc powder on himself. Just before he rushed out, his bladder gave him stinging signals to relieve it, to which he reluctantly obeyed and delayed himself further.

Jenny watched her boyfriend apply an insufferable amount of deodorant, clumsily put his clothes on, top that off with eau de parfum, walk out of the room with his hospital access pass, only to come back in remembering his tie. She laid still under the sheets, exhausted from her shift last night. Her eyes tracked his movements, watching everything that was going on but all she could do was smile in amusement. She commanded herself to get up and her legs obediently got down from the edge of bed. She straightened her back, flung her arms wide open and stretched while the sheets fell unwrapping her to greet the morning sun, nude and proud. She had her one morning yawn and then immediately approached the closet. 'This would go better with the shirt,' she said still half asleep holding a blue skinny necktie, and handed it over to him. Daniel threw the one he was holding onto the floor, although he had already prepared the knot and laid it out days before. He fashioned the tie just handed to him around his neck and started the process, trying to catch his breath.

Jenny swooped her hands in and took over. 'I thought you did your prayers at Dawn,'

'I did,' he replied. She gave the last pull and it was a perfect Half-Windsor. 'Then you went back to sleep,' she chuckled and patted his back. 'Go be a hero,' she added. Daniel winced as he caught some of her unapologetic breath. 'Oh and you're so clean,' she snarkily retorted.

As Daniel fumbled his way to leave for another day in the hospital, Jenny was supposed to enjoy her one day off a week and today was just that day. The first thing she did as most people do was immediately check her phone for updates. '31 pending notifications' littered her screen. Most of it was just trash but then there was that breakfast that she was supposed to have, the 'just us girls' kind.

And then there was all the news about the recent events, the string of condolences, prayers and regrets, and all the long eulogies from self proclaimed friends on the departed's Facebook profile. That and all the personals texts as well, some even not so sincere,

'Hey so I know this isn't the right time, but her room is empty now right? I wonder if I can move in, I need to give a quick notice to my landlord cause it's quite expensive out here.' Jenny simply replied, 'you're right, this isn't the right time.'

Jenny, unlike many other house officers never really identified herself to a single clique. She had varied group of friends, most of course from the same profession as her but some were also from her old music school, where she worked teaching hip hop to adolescent girls part time before she got the job she was currently in. Her friends too were interim job holders who now do different if not better things. Jenny being the only one who had 'Dr' prefixed to her name still found herself riddled with insecurity around them. According to her, they had better lives then she did. She loved to hear about their stories, their latest projects, travels, and people they have met. Today she was meeting with just 2, one whom everyone just refers to as Ain, the law student turned public defender, and another Rekha, a travel blogger who so happens to be in town and would just die if they did not all meet at least once. Another friend of hers from work, a young house officer by the name of Syikin, wanted to tag along because she was 'Off' too and had nothing else better to do today. Plus it was such an inviting weather.